Santa Ana mayoral candidate David Benavides and his supporters would like us to think that he represents some kind of revolution, but in truth he is working with Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects – the mostly Republican, angry, older anti-Latino busy bodies that ran City Hall for far too long.

The Usual Suspects are the folks who passed laws against drying your laundry in the backyard; who limited garage sales to four per year; who worked to get rid of jobs – targeting those who deliver printed marketing materials to homes and those who stand on street corners twirling signs to build up local businesses. These are the gentrifiers who bemoan the fact that Santa Ana became a Latino majority city and who put bear locks on their trash cans to keep the homeless from collecting their bottles and cans. Continue reading→

Longtime Santa Ana City Commissioners Julie Stroud and Vicky Betancourt are out – both are being replaced this Tuesday night, at the next Santa Ana City Council meeting, according to the posted meeting agenda.

Stroud served on the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission. She was one of two Commissioners on that board who opposed my suggestion that the City of Santa Ana look into creating a dog park. The other, Tish Leon, was dismissed a few months ago after she joined with Stroud in bullying a teenage Commissioner, who then quit the Commission, but outed them in the process.

Stroud was seen by many supporters of Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, when she was leaving the election night party of failed Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua. I knew then it was unlikely she would be re-appointed to the Parks and Recreation Board.

Stroud is being replaced by Ava Steaffens, the President of Kidworks, a non-profit that serves needy children in Santa Ana. That is a great choice! Steaffens is being appointed by Councilman David Benavides.

Roman Reyna, who is now a member of the SAUSD School Board, was also replaced, on the Housing and Redevelopment Commission, by Laura Morfin, who chaired the now defunct EPIC Commission. Morfin is being appointed by Benavides. And Mayor Pulido is appointing Wendy Tobiska to the Parks and Recreation Board.

Benavides also re-appointed Mario Turner to the Santa Ana Planning Commission, but the big news is Betancourt’s departure from that same body. Betancourt was perhaps the most controversial member of the Santa Ana Planning Commission. Her decisions were often overturned by the Santa Ana City Council. Betancourt is allegedly an atheist, and she reportedly was very tough on any church that had business with the Planning Commission. She is also a major supporter of the Artists Village. None of the current Planning Commissioners are known supporters of the arts, although that doesn’t mean they won’t be supportive of the Artists Village.

Betancourt is one of the owners of Coneybeare, a local temp agency firm. She was also on the board of directors of the Santa Ana Business Bank, which sold its assets at a loss of about 40%, to a bank in Los Angeles, about a year ago.

Sandy Nalle will be replacing Betancourt on the Planning Commission. Nalle works for CB Richard Ellis, a commercial real estate company. He has a Juris Doctorate and he ran against Bustamanteback in 2004, when he got over 40% of the vote. Bustamante won that election, with 59% of the vote. Nalle was supported by Pulido, and it is Pulido who is now putting him on the Planning Commission.

According to his company’s website, Nalle is an expert in large property sales and governmental relations, Mr. Nalle’s transactions vary from 400,000 square foot industrial leases to 100 acre land acquisitions and development projects. Additionally, he has thirty years of extensive experience with Mexican commercial, legal and real estate matters including fideicomiso organization.

Nalle was also a Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.

With Betancourt’s exit there are now no women on the Planning Commission. She is also an environmentalist – and again, to my knowledge, none of the remaining Planning Commissioners are environmental extremists.

It should be noted that Nalle lives in Ward 3 – as do all of the Planning Commissioners except for Sean Mill, who lives in Ward 6.

In a sign of growing desperation, Alfredo Amezcua’s mayoral campaign has hired human signs to stand on the corner of 17th and Main St., in front of the Norm’s Restaurant.

This is ironic since Amezcua is supported by the Usual Suspects, which include Debbie McEwen and Julie Stroud. Both of them have been very vocal opponents to the use of human signs.

Stroud in fact used to scream about human signs at every single Santa Ana NICE Committee (which was not nice to immigrants) meeting.

I am pretty sure these guys were paid human signs. I spoke to them and they had no idea who Amezcua is. It was just a job. In which case Amezcua violated the Cal/OSHA Outdoor Workers Heat Illness regulation. Only one worker had drinking water and they were not provided with shade.

Well, Amezcua said he would create jobs…

Below by the way is a picture of McEwen’s house, which she allegedly runs as an unlicensed board and room facility. Note the Amezcua and Helen Martinez signs. Latino voters beware, if McEwen supports these candidates they are vendidos!

And what does McEwen have to say about Amezcua’s use of human signs? Well, I think this picture says it all:

The Alfredo Amezcua campaign spent a week screaming on Facebook about free speech, but at tonight’s Santa Ana City Council meeting, which was held at the historic Yost Theater, they sent a mime to the podium, then waved the white flag. I was embarrassed for them.

Ruben Alvarez, who serves as Amezcua’s photographer, turned in a speaker card. I asked him where his censorship sticker was and he blanched. He must have thought I read his mind. Moments later, when he took the podium, he put a piece of white tape over his mouth, then proceeded to hold up sheets of paper with words on them. It was all so lame I couldn’t even follow what the heck he was trying to say.

Amezcua’s lame mime…

Councilman David Benavides whined and pleaded for forgiveness, apparently forgetting that he had voted to silence Amezcua’s disciple, Alberto Castillo.

The rest of the Council would have none of that. Councilman Vince Sarmiento, who is an attorney, said he took the initiative and looked into the law, and he spoke to Castillo and offered to give him the podium. Mayor Pro Tem Claudia Alvarez took it further and invited Castillo to come up and finish his statement. He didn’t as he, predictably, had nothing to say. I guess Amezcua forgot to write a speech for him.

Amezcua was there, but despite all his public whining and chest-beating he sat stone-faced in his seat and did not speak, even as the Council voted to toss his supporter, Tish Leon, off the Parks and Recreation Commision.

Benavides voted against that motion, after pulling it off the consent calendar. He bleated about how it was a political move. Then he sat there red-faced as the entire Council whacked him. Mayor Miguel Pulido put it best when he said that the Council Members serve at the pleasure of the voters, and the Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the Council Members. The Council Members can toss any Commissioner they want to, any time, for any reason.

Council Member Michele Martinez mentioned in her comments that she wasn’t playing politics when she appointed Leon, who ran against her in 2006, to a City Commission. Then she revealed that Leon did not have a good rapport with her. Mayor Pro Tem Alvarez then chimed in that Leon had once been her commissioner, and they had not worked well either. Leon, for whatever reason, shunned the Council Members who appointed her to two City Commissions. That was not a great strategy, as it turned out.

Councilman Carlos Bustamante, who is allied with Benavides, bit his tongue and voted to remove Leon. I don’t think he wanted to get scorned like Benavides, who is now on the outs with the entire City Council.

That guy in the striped shirt lives in Long Beach – he must have gotten lost on the way home!

Leon did not show up, nor did her fellow bully Commissioner Julie Stroud. But all the other Usual Suspects were there in full force. It was funny to see Debbie McEwen sitting with mayoral candidate Charles Hart. As you can see in the picture atop this post, she was her usual surly self.

All of the Usual Suspects beat a hasty retreat at the end, as their latest scheme to embarrass the City Council failed. Even worse, now they have a mime in their midst! Good grief…

Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua is screeching about free speech on his Facebook account. He is upset that his uncouth supporter, Albert Castillo, was silenced at the last Santa Ana City Council meeting after the Council voted unanimously to turn off his microphone. Castillo had been blathering incoherently about something that happened ten years ago, back when he used to run around town in a beret.

Castillo, as it turns out, had a right to make a fool of himself at that meeting. The Brown Act is clear about this. Residents can make asses of themselves during public comments. That is not illegal.

That said, Amezcua has been as silent as a lamb about his supporter, rogue bully Commissioner Tish Leon, who joined with her fellow Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Julie Stroud, in terrorizing a sixteen year old honor student who was a student commissioner on their board.

What did the young man do to deserve this? He stood up for my right to make a presentation to the Parks and Recreation Board about building a dog park in Santa Ana.

Leon and Stroud showed up to that meeting, during which Parks and Rec Agency Director Gerardo Mouet was going to introduce his feasibility study into my dog park proposal, with their minds already made up. They had with them a letter from Thomas Gordon, a Republican who recently failed in an attempt to get onto the November ballot, as a candidate against Councilman Sal Tinajero.

Thomas Gordon won’t be on the ballot after all, in November

In the letter, Gordon slammed the dog park proposal, even though he once told me that he loved visiting the eight or nine dog parks in the Denver area, where he maintains a second home. Gordon pays to fly his dog with him to Denver. It is ironic that Gordon thinks it is okay to deprive the people of Santa Ana of the joy of visiting a dog park when he does this all the time!

The student commissioner later told Stroud and Leon that he thought the dog park idea was a good one. And he questioned why Gordon was involved. And that was it. The bully commissioners lost their minds and went into attack mode. The rest is history.

Amezcua has had NOTHING to say about the behavior of his longtime supporter, Leon. He has been working very closely with her since he started his campaign. She hosts the meetings of his organization, Sacred, at her offices. I attended those meetings early on, only to find that Leon had brought in a host of Usual Suspects, including Gordon and Stroud.

So Amezcua wants free speech for his ill-mannered supporters, but not for a sixteen year old honor student, or for members of the community who approach city commissions with new ideas – only to be attacked by Amezcua’s friends on the commissions. (For the record, Stroud referred to me as an ass on the Santa Ana Citizens Yahoogroup after I spoke to her board, a clear violation of the City of Santa Ana’s Code of Ethics).

By the way, Amezcua supporter Ruben Alvarez is insinuating on his Facebook account that he has been censored. Really Ruben? I cannot recall him ever asking to speak at a Council meeting and being refused the opportunity. That is simply a lie.

In fact, for the record, Amezcua himself showed up at the Council meeting when they approved the amendments to the One Broadway Plaza development. He walked up to the City Clerk, had his parking stub validated, and left. He wasn’t censored. He just had nothing of substance to add to the conversation. As far as I am concerned, he still has nothing to say – and he certainly has been mum about the bullying actions of Leon, his main supporter.

The Santa Ana City Council looks to be ready to take swift and decisive action Monday night against one of the two Park’s and Recreation Commission members responsible for bullying the student representative to that board causing him to resign. Item 13C on Monday night’s city council agenda calls for the removal of Tish Leon from the Board of Recreation and Parks.

As you may recall Leon, fellow Commissioner Julie Stroud and disqualified city council candidate Thomas Gordon hounded the 16 year old student representative to that board so badly that the youngster chose to resign rather than subject himself to their harassment. The young man stated to my fellow blogger Art Pedroza that the bullying began because they were angry that he would not support their candidate, Thomas Gordon, for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council. And both Leon and Stroud demanded that the high school student stop reading the Orange Juice and New Santa Ana blogs and de-friend Pedroza on Facebook.

Why on earth would these folks be so concerned about who a 16 year old was going to support in an election that he could not even vote in? Perhaps Gordon should have spent more time focusing on those that were registered voters within his ward and perhaps he would have been able to collect the 20 signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot.

Pedroza and I have both met with the young man and a number of councilmembers have spoken to him about the repeated bullying by Leon, Stroud and Gordon. He told Pedroza and myself that he has phone records to document the repeated calls made to him by these folks as well as other documented evidence.

There are others in the local blogosphere that are attempting to spin this and mislead the public as to why Leon is being removed. The truth of the matter is that the council and others find the treatment of the 16 year old reprehensible and unbecoming behavior by a city commissioner. If they allow Leon to remain on the board it would reflect poorly upon the community.

Personally I believe that Stroud, who was appointed by David Benavides, should be removed as well. Councilmember Michele Martinez who appointed Leon likely agreed to the action Monday night and that is why the council is willing to move forward with it. Benavides probably balked at the removal of Stroud and that is likely why she remains. Folks should know that Stroud’s husband has given money to Benavides campaign and both Leon and Julie Stroud are listed as supporters of the councilman.

I certainly hope that the young man bullied by Leon, Stroud and Gordon stays involved in our community and that this unfortunate incident didn’t sour him on community involvement. He is a terrific young man and give me hope that our city’s future is in good hands if he and others like him are involved. I am going to ask the council to rescind his resignation and put him back on the Parks and Recreation Commission. His voice needs to be heard.

The meeting, scheduled to begin at 6PM, will be held at the Yost Theatre, 307 N. Spurgeon, in downtown Santa Ana.

How appropriate that the meeting is being held in a theatre, rumor has it that Leon’s supporters and the rest of the “usual suspects” will display their theatrics in her defense at the meeting.

Debbie McEwen and the Usual Suspects are taking the City of Santa Ana to court again

Santa Ana’s Usual Suspects are seeking a court order to block the city from removing the pre-leasing requirement for the One Broadway Plaza (OBP) project, if the city doesn’t reconsider or put it to another public vote, according to the O.C. Register.

The Santa Ana City Attorney already told these folks that the City Council has the legal right to change the developer agreement, but that isn’t good enough for them. Now they will force the City of Santa Ana to waste tax money in court fighting them.

This same bunch already sued to stop the Santa Ana Transit Zone project, which includes affordable housing. They appear to be opposed to all new development.

This project will result in almost three thousand jobs – and thanks to Santa Ana Mayor Pro Tem the developer is going to have to ensure that as much as possible the jobs go to local residents.

In related news, one of the Usual Suspects who is opposing OBP, Thomas Gordon, failed to qualify for the November ballot, in his bid for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council. That won’t make his number one backer, Usual Suspect Debbie McEwen, very happy. She was all set to host a coffee for Gordon’s now-dead campaign.

Incidentally, Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua showed up to the Santa Ana City Council meeting when the amendments to the OBP developer agreement were discussed. He validated his parking stub and left without comment. His backers are known to be part of the Usual Suspect coalition that is opposing OBP.

Others in the coalition include rogue City Commissioner Tish Leon, who will soon be dismissed from the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission, after we broke the story that she terrorized a sixteen year old student commissioner so badly that he quit that commission; and Glen Stroud, who has already been tossed off two City Commissions, as well as his wife Julie, who joined in the bullying of the aforementioned student commissioner.

The anti-OBP coalition is also full of busy bodies from the Santa Ana Neighborhood Associations. The City of Santa Ana really needs to pull their funding.

The voters already voted to pass Measure A, approving OBP. Why these people keep fighting the project is a real mystery. I guess they don’t want local workers to get back to work.

First Councilman David Benavides chose to go through with honoring a member of a recognized hate group and her supporters from the council dais and now it appears that the Ward 4 representative is going all in with the two women who terrorized a 16 year old so bad that he resigned from the Parks and Recreation Commission. How much longer will Mayor Miguel Pulido and company continue to support this ever worsening embarassment?

According to Benavides website Commissioners Julie Stroud and Tish Leon are amongst a group of so-called neighborhood leaders putting on a fundraiser for him tomorrow night in the Washington Square Neighborhood. By displaying their names so prominently on the notice for the event it is clear that Benavides has little concern for the vicious bullying of the student representative to the Parks and Rec Commission carried out by these two women and their friend, and Lupe Moreno supporter, city council candidate Thomas Gordon.

The forever angry Julie Stroud

Benavides likes to promote himself as the councilmember that is championing the causes to improve the quality of life in Santa Ana for our young people. If that were truly the case he would not be insulting the young man bullied by Stroud, Leon and Gordon and he would disavow any asscociation with them. Seeing as how he not only embraced the likes of haters Lupe Moreno, Anita Hynds and their supporters but also made sure that they all got their certificates of recognition from the city, I have given up any hope of Benavides doing the right thing.

Also on the list of folks honoring the councilman is disgraced and disgruntled former Redevelopment Commissioner Glen Stroud who was booted from that post late last year by the Mayor and council majority. Stroud, as a member of the Grand Jury, was instrumental in the fraudulent witch hunt attacking Mayor Pulido and the city earlier this year.

Ousted Commissioner Glen Stroud

Benavides colleagues on the council have taken note of his chummy relationship with these folks that routinely attack and attempt to embarass the mayor, city council and other city leaders. It is about time that Mayor Pulido take notice and cut off the campaign funding for Benavides. Clearly Benavides is in bed with the very folks coming after the mayor and his allies.

Tish Leon: Soon to be an ex-Commissioner?

It will be interesting to see how Benavides reacts to the impending ouster of Leon and Stroud from the Parks and Recreation Commission. Will he defend them to the end? Will that finally seal his fate with Pulido and company. Stay tuned as we will be covering every move.

Over the past several days astounding revelations about the alleged bullying of the 16 year old youth representative to the Parks and Recreation Commission by Commissioner’s Julie Stroud, Tish Leon and their ally city council candidate Thomas Gordon have been made public. The young man who resigned from the commission rather than face continued harrassment at the hands of these folks is ready to share emails and phone records to help confirm his story.

My sources inside city hall tell me that the Mayor and City Council are taking this matter quite seriously and that there is a good chance that if Stroud and Leon don’t resign they will be removed. Because of the Orange Juice’s continuing coverage of this fiasco and the resulting pressure being applied on city leaders the attacks on Art Pedroza and myself have been intensified by the “usual suspects” and their allies in the blogosphere.

It has been brought to my attention that Gordon has been engaging in an ongoing smear campaign against myself and is responsible for the numerous anonymous comments alleging that I am racist against our friends in the Vietnamese community. This is so ridiculous that I should ignore it however it is necessary to expose the reason for the smokescreen being created by Gordon.

What Gordon fails to mention in his smear campaign is that I was there to support the very first Vietnamese candidate to run for elective office in Santa Ana, Henry Le, back in 1992. I have subsequently been a staunch supporter of Vietnamese pols Hoa Van Tran and Hugh Nguyen. While Gordon and his friends like Ryan Gene Williams were involved in smear campaigns and dirty tricks aimed at undermining the campaigns of Viet candidates. It was Williams who, with Gordon’s knowledge, redirected URL’s associated with the campaigns of Hoa Van Tran and Dina Nguyen to gay pornography sites.

Why would someone like Gordon who befriends members of the Vietnamese community under the guise of being on their side engage in or approve of such despicable actions? The bigger question is, if Gordon was so concerned about bigotry against the Vietnamese community why does he remain silent about his mentor Julie Stroud’s bigotry aimed at the Vietnamese?

That’s right Stroud doesn’t only bully 16 year old kids she also appears to harbor anti-Vietnamese sentiments or at least that is how she came across in statements on the Yahoo Santa Ana Citizens group during the debate over a street monument being dedicated to the Little Saigon area near First and Euclid on the west side of Santa Ana.

The forever angry Julie Stroud

Here is what Stroud had to say in a June 18, 2003 comment on that site:

You are simplifying the problems that are rearing their ugly head. We didn’t
just lose a fight. Our elected representatives chose to turn their backs on
the neighborhoods and side with the Vietnam Business Council (a council of 22
men) that are for the most part not even residents of Santa Ana.

This is only the beginning of the Vietnamese influence on our local
government. They will do whatever is necessary to expand their influence
throughout city hall and the chamber…i.e. the Vietnamese flag that was placed on the
public right of way on Euclid, south of 1st Street, even after their permit was
denied by city hall.

The LA Times reported that on the monument site a Vietnamese flag would
permanently be flying above bamboo trees. Only an amendment by Alvarez
prevented this from being included in the motion by Franklin, second by Garcia.

The bus that brought many of the monument supporters to the council meeting
were people mostly over 60 and couldn’t (or wouldn’t) say the pledge of
allegiance to the US flag. They didn’t even look at the flag, yet one supporter entered the
meeting room with a Vietnamese flag on a stick twice the size of the little
United States flag under it.

Please don’t pass judgment on what happened Monday night if you were not
there. The council members that voted against neighborhood concerns (not
wanting to be labeled as living in little Saigon) in favor of a group of business men
who want to expand their perimeter of influence into the West part of town,
must face the music.

Julie Stroud

I just love how Stroud says, “They will do whatever is necessary to expand their influence throughout city hall and the chamber”. If that’s not fear mongering and playing the bigot card I don’t know what is. I wonder how Stroud feels about having to serve with one of “them”, Kenneth Nguyen, on the Parks and Recreation Commission?

I wonder if Mr. Nguyen is aware of Stroud’s open resentment of Vietnamese folks such as himself having influence at city hall? I wonder why Gordon doesn’t share this little tidbit with everyone he comes across?

Julie Stroud’s protege’ Thomas Gordon

Perhaps the next time you see Gordon or Stroud you can ask them to explain Julie’s position in regards to the Vietnamese community. When “Tommy Boy” pulls out his phone to show you cherry picked out of context statements to try and smear me ask him, “Why does your mentor Julie Stroud not like Vietnamese people?”

A bully and a bigot. That doesn’t sound like the resume of someone who should be serving on our city’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Make sure you let David Benavides, the councilmember responsible for her being there, know that she must go.

The following is an actual letter emailed to Mayor Pulido and the City Council this morning:

Mayor Pulido and City Council,

Once again this morning I awoke to news that the Parks and Recreation Commission wanted to bring more embarassment to our city by honoring Lupe Moreno and the Friends of the Santa Ana Library. Sources tell me that this action was the doing of Commissioners Tish Leon and Julie Stroud. Thankfully the sanity and leadership of Mr. Mouet took over and the commission wisely called off the awarding of this honor to a group whose president is an admitted member of a recognized hate group.

This faux pas comes on top of the revelations that Ms. Leon and Stroud bullied the student representative on the commission so badly that the young man resigned rather than submit himself to there terroristic actions. How much longer are you folks going to allow these commissioners to run this commission as their own little feifdom? How much longer are you going to allow them to bring shame and embarssment to our city and potentially leave us open to legal action? Their bullying of this young man could be actionable and the taxpayers would be on the hook.

When I previously contacted Councilmember Benavides about Stroud’s deplorable behavior I was ignored. I guess her referring to a resident who spoke before the commission as an “ass” is perfectly acceptable behavior in the eyes of Councilmember Benavides. He ignored several emails and phone calls to him. Perhaps it is incumbent upon the rest of you to help him out. Just as you had to educate him as to why he should not honor hate group members from the council dais it appears that you need to help him realize that the behavior of his rogue/bullying commissioner is a reflection upon him and his judgment.

It is time that Leon and Stroud be removed from this body. I call upon Councilmembers Benavides and Martinez to take this action immediately and if they fail to do so the council should do it for them. I encourage you all to speak with your appointees and other members of the commission as well. I have heard first hand from them about the behavior of these two commissioners and it isn’t pretty.

I am simply shocked to see Councilmember Benavides go all in for these folks. Let me remind you that it was Stroud’s husband that was behind the fraudulent and bogus Grand Jury report that attempted to smear all of you and our city. How much longer must we give these folks a platform to embarass you and our community?

I was able to attend the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission meeting tonight. Our reader, Rob Cook, showed up too.

I half expected the rogue bully commissioners, Tish Leon and Julie Stroud, to skip out on the meeting, but there they were. Commissioners Max Madrid and Kenneth Nguyen were there as well.

There weren’t many items on the agenda. They whipped through it quickly and then came the time for public comments. Cook spoke first. He addressed a number of items. He also stated that he supported Minuteman Lupe Moreno, who was honored last week by Santa Ana Councilman David Benavides.

Commissioner Julie Stroud

Then it was my turn. I first thanked Gerardo Mouet and the Commissioners who joined him in removing the agenda item from tonight’s meeting that was originally going to result in Moreno receiving an award from the Commission. For the record, Leon and Stroud placed that item on calendar in the first place.

Then I picked up the agenda and asked those in attendance to look at the front page, under Student Representative, where the word “Vacant” appears. I told them that I had spoken to the young man that Leon and Stroud hounded until he quit the Commission. He told me that they were angry because he would not support their candidate, Thomas Gordon, for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council. And both Leon and Stroud demanded that the high school student stop reading my blogs and de-friend me on Facebook.

I called on Leon and Stroud to do us all a favor and resign.

Commissioners Max Madrid and Kenneth Nguyen

Then came the surprise of the evening. Madrid stood up and spoke not as a Commissioner but as a member of the public. He lambasted Leon and Stroud, saying that he has known the former Student Commissioner for years – and reminding us all that the young man is only 16 years of age. Madrid asked for an item to be placed on the next agenda – a full investigation of what Leon and Stroud did to the former Student Commissioner.

Stroud interrupted him at the end to blurt out, “Did you call us?”

I then asked, as I was leaving, if it was standard for Commissioners to berate members of the public during public comments.

It should be noted that Leon, who Chairs the Commission, received a loud phone call during the meeting. She texted a response. I later received a text message from a disturbed fellow who blogs elsewhere, asking me how the meeting was going. I was not surprised to find him in cahoots with the likes of Leon and Stroud.

One of our readers sent us what Leon’s response to all this was on Facebook:

“I know that when you are in the public eye, one should expect to be attacked & criticized, but really!!??!!”

That was her status update, and then there followed a thread of comments…then she went on to update it with this when someone asked her if she was being bullied…

“Big time, they are the local bully’s of a blog…”

She ended the thread of comments with:

“thanks everyone, it was a tough day & meeting. I’m done & the sun will come out tomorrow….lalala”

Our reader found it ironic that the bully would call us the bullies, when she was the BIG bully that terrorized the student commissioner in the first place!

Leon and Stroud should not gloat for long. I am fairly certain that one or both will be removed shortly. Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido is surely still sore at Stroud’s husband, Glen, for leading a fraudulent investigation of the Santa Ana City Council, by the O.C. Grand Jury. I cannot imagine he will be sad to see another Stroud tossed off a City Commission.

Time to let Santa Ana Parks and Rec Chair Tish Leon know how we feel about her bullying

If you are as upset as I am at the bullying behavior of Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commissioners Tish Leon and Julie Stroud, who terrorized a Student Commissioner so badly that he quit their Commission, here is your chance to let your voice be heard.

The next Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission meeting is on Wednesday, July 28, at 5:30 pm, at the Santa Ana Main Library, in Room A, located at 26 Civic Center Plaza. Click here to read the meeting agenda. The public will have an opportunity to comment at this meeting.

Unbelievably, the agenda includes yet another honor to be bestowed upon Minuteman and former OC GOP Central Committee Member Lupe Moreno. She took over not only this year’s Santa Ana Independence Day event, but also she is now the head of the Friends of the Santa Ana Library. And the Santa Ana Parks and Rec Commission will be bestowing yet another award on her in that capacity, for “Special Service to the Community.” Click here to see proof that Moreno is indeed the President of the Friends of the Library.

You may recall that Councilman David Benavides honored Moreno and her Minutemen at the last Santa Ana City Council meeting, much to the chagrin of his Council colleagues, who lambasted Benavides. That scandal ended up in the pages of both the OC Weekly and the O.C. Register.

So you will have two items to speak out about on Wednesday. I urge you to ask Leon and Stroud to resign, in light of what they did to their former student commissioner, and I also recommend that our residents speak out about this latest honor being given to Moreno. For shame! Extremist Minutemen should not be receiving honors in our city!

UPDATE: Victory!

I received this note early today, from Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Agency Director Gerardo Mouet:

Earlier this week, I spoke to several members of the Board of Recreation and Parks on an individual basis and all expressed their preference to pull this item from their Board agenda. This agenda item has been pulled and the Friends of the Library have been notified. The Board of Recreation and Parks agenda is being revised and when posted on the web later today, it will not have the Special Service to the Community Presentation to the Friends of the Library.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Keep in mind the fact that I just stumbled across this scandal yesterday and the Commission meets tonight. I made sure to save the original agenda on my own server, just in case.

I am thrilled that Mouet and his Commissioners have stopped Leon and Stroud in their tracks.

I did speak to a Commissioner, who asked to remain anonymous. He assured me that the list of honorees was submitted to the Commission by Leon – and Stroud. They would not allow the other Commissioners to change that list, even after some of them complained. Bullies! For now they have been thwarted but the only real solution will be for the City Council to dismiss these rogue Commissioners with the greatest haste.

When I spoke today with the honor student who was chased off the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission by his fellow Commissioners, Julie Stroud and Tish Leon, he reminded me that I forgot an important detail in my previous post.

The main reason that Leon and Stroud went after this young man was because he refused to support their friend, part-time Santa Ana resident Thomas Gordon, for Ward 6 on the Santa Ana City Council. Now keep in mind that the student commissioner was appointed by the incumbent in Ward 6, Sal Tinajero.

Why they expected this young man to back Gordon is a real mystery. The student commissioner supports my proposal to build a dog park in Santa Ana. Leon and Stroud oppose that idea – as does Gordon. It is ironic since Gordon, who maintains a second home in Denver, Colorado, has told me in the past how much he enjoys taking his dog, which he flies with him to Denver, to the many dog parks available in the Denver suburbs.

Now think about this for a moment. Leon and Stroud bullied a decent teenager who was trying to contribute to our social fabric here in Santa Ana because they were, essentially, campaigning for Gordon. That is so wrong I am taken aback.

Of course they both also complained that the student commissioner was an avid reader of my blogs and a friend of mine on Facebook, but the bigger issue, clearly, is that Leon and Stroud are using the power that has been granted to them as City Commissioners not in service of our people but rather to advance their political allies. No matter how you slice that, it is just wrong.

Stroud, Leon and Gordon are often seen sitting together at Santa Ana City Council meetings, along with other Usual Suspects in their fraternity.

Gordon was recently re-elected to the OC GOP Central Committee, in the 69th Assembly District. His nomination papers were signed by Lupe Moreno, a Minuteman and member of the CCIR, a known hate group. He also signed her nomination papers, as she too ran for the Central Committee. Gordon came in fourth, out of six candidates. Moreno lost.

Gordon previously ran for Mayor of Santa Ana. He also assisted carpetbagger Harry Sidhu’s ill-fated Supervisorial campaign. And Gordon collected signatures for Sidhu’s race for the same OC GOP Central Committee, even though he does not live in the 69th Assembly District. Sidhu, like Moreno, lost.

Leon also lost, badly, coming in last in 2006, when she ran for Ward 2 on the Santa Ana City Council. She is rumored to have borrowed forty grand on her house, for her failed campaign. The winner in that election, Michele Martinez, graciously appointed Leon to the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission. Martinez is now said to be leaning towards dismissing Leon in the near future.

Another scandal is erupting – and like the Benavides Hatergate fiasco it involves Councilman David Benavides.

I found out this week that Benavides’ appointment to the Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Commission, Julie Stroud, joined with the Chair of that Commission, Tish Leon, in terrorizing a high school student who was on their Commission because he admitted to reading my blogs and being my friend on Facebook.

Leon called the student commissioner and berated him for over an hour. He also received a nasty call from Stroud. He ended up resigning from the Commission. I am withholding his identity because he asked me to – and because he has already suffered enough.

Councilman Sal Tinajero appointed this young man, who is an honor student, to the Parks and Rec Commission. He was shocked when he heard what happened. He has promised to take action next week.

Leon and Stroud appear to have broken not only with decorum but also with the Santa Ana Code of Ethics, which governs the actions of both elected and appointed officials.

They appear to have violated this part of the City’s Code of Ethics:

RESPECT FOR FELLOW ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIALS, STAFF, AND THE PUBLIC

I treat my fellow officials, staff and the public with patience, courtesy and civility, even when we disagree on what is best for the community.

I work towards consensus building and gain value from diverse opinions.

I respect the distinction between the role of office holder and staff; I involve staff in meetings with individuals, those with business before the agency, officials from other agencies and legislators to ensure proper staff support and to keep staff informed.

I conduct myself in a courteous and respectful manner at all times during the performance of my official City duties.

I encourage full participation of all persons and groups; I am aware and observe important celebrations and events which reflect the values of our diverse population.

Santa Ana Parks and Rec Commissioner Julie Stroud

Leon was appointed to this Commission by Council Member Michele Martinez. It should be noted that Stroud does not live in Benavides’ ward.

It should likewise be noted that Leon works at the Santa Ana Public Law Center. Perhaps she should ask the attorneys there to explain Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Association to her.

Leon is also involved with Santa Ana Mayoral candidate Al Amezcua. She has been part of his SaCred coalition from the start and hosts his meetings at her office.

Click here to email the Santa Ana City Council and express your views about Leon and Stroud’s actions. Personally I think they should be removed immediately from their Commission. Adults who bully our young people should not be associated with our City in any capacity, period.

Councilman David Benavides has been desperately trying to quell the firestorm that erupted when we broke the story that he honored a group of Minutemen and extremist Republicans who were recruited by Mexican-hater Lupe Moreno to take over this year’s Santa Ana Independence Day event.

Benavides has tried to argue that he didn’t know the Minutemen were involved but a new video has surfaced that clearly shows him bowing to Moreno and talking to her at the event. He certainly did know what was going on.

Many people in the community are wondering why Benavides would get involved with racists who hate his constituents. Now they will have a chance to ask him personally why he did this.

Benavides will be available the first Saturday of next month, August 7, for his “Community Office Hours,” from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the Southwest Senior Center, located at 2201 W. McFadden Avenue. The Senior Center is accessible by OCTA routes 66 and 145. You may call the City Council office at (714) 647-5200 for more information.

For the record, Benavides has been involved with Republicans and Usual Suspects since he first ran for office. Click here to see his past endorsements, which include:

OC GOP member Tim Whitacre, who ran the failed racist campaign of Mexican-basher Bill Hunt this year

Republican Councilman Carlos Bustamante, who was tossed off two State Commissions after his infamous “waterbra” comments

Former SAUSD Trustee Rosie Avila, a Republican and past member of the OC GOP Central Committee who challenged Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez – but lost to her fellow Mexican-hater, Tan Nguyen. She ran again in a later race and Sanchez finished off her political career. Whitacre managed her first Congressional campaign.

Current SAUSD Trustee Rob Richardson, a Republican who has helped to ruin the SAUSD.

Don Cribb, the father of the arts movement – and a major backer of gentrification schemes. Benavides made him a city commissioner even though Cribb does not live in his ward.

Ousted City Commissioner Glen Stroud, a Republican

Glen’s wife Julie Stroud, who Benavides appointed to the Parks and Recreation Commission even though she does not live in his ward

Debbie McEwen, the Mexican-hater who erected barricades in French Park, to keep Mexicans out, only to get sued by the ACLU. The barricades came down!

Otto Bade, a Republican who once challenged Lou Correa – and lost

Art Lomeli, a Republican resident of Orange Park Acres who is working on Al Amezcua’s campaign

Can Benavides survive the Hatergate scandal? That is hard to say. If no one challenges him in November he will win another term on the City Council. But my sources tell me that his aspirations to go to Sacramento to replace Jose Solorio in the 69th Assembly District when he terms out in 2012 are now dashed.

Will Benavides’ Hatergate scandal also bring down Republican City Council candidate Thomas Gordon and mayoral candidate Al Amezcua? There are rumors that Benavides, Gordon and Amezcua are going to be campaigning together as the “BAG” team. That is plausible as they share the same supporters. Mayor Miguel Pulido and the other City Council members have already been warned not to share anything of importance with Benavides as he cannot be trusted to be loyal to them.